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Show •234 evenly, powerfully, toward the north. The current seemed slow until a leaf, a twig, a bit of dead wood floated by and showed us its true speed. The heavy dark water tugged at the deepest part of my mind; it spoke a language inhumanly old whose message skipped past the shallow cognitive centers of the brain and went straight down to the roots of meaning. Jacob and I stcod there staring for a long time. We need each other, I thought. "I feel better," Jacob said. "What I said is true but you're not such a terrible person-mostly you're just arrogant. And you knew why? Because you've never tried really hard to do anything. You've never taken a chance with yourself. Think about that. I've said enough and we won't talk about it any more. What was I asking your opinion for anyway? How would you knew enough to give me advice? You're smart but smart isn't sufficient. All right, all right, I'm finished now. Let's talk about Carlo. You're both a little crazy so you should understand each other." In the end we decided to wait and see what would happen next. Nothing, I hoped, but I wasn't optimistic. When we got back to the house Carlo seemed highly charged, full of a jumpy, nervous happiness. At lunch he ate quickly then sat across from me, smiling at nothing in particular, tapping out a tune with his coffee-spoon. "What are you so cheerful for?" I said. |
